TEXT SET

 INTRODUCTION

Hello! Welcome to my third blog post! 

I’ve decided that my imaginary class that I would be teaching these texts in would be a Film and Literature Class. It would be an elective that’s only available to upperclassmen in high school. As for how the texts would all work together, I would have different units that cover different “lenses” in this class. For example, in the gender lens unit, students would analyze different gender norms, tropes, etc. in the movies/books that we read. In this class, I would be focusing on three lenses: race, gender, and mental health. 

**Also, I would have students all get permission slips filled out by parents/guardians in the beginning of the semester because some of the movies are rated ‘R’ and I wouldn’t want that to be an issue halfway through the semester. The entire text set would be listed out for parents/guardians in the beginning, so they can choose to allow their student to take the class or not.

PRINT

O’Malley, Bryan. Scott Pilgrim Series. Oni Press, 2004.

Scott Pilgrim Series-Purchase Link

Summary:This series is about a man named Scott Pilgrim who is trying to get his life together. They are all graphic novels, but I think I would only have the students read the first five because the sixth doesn’t tie in with the movie (it was published after the movie was released). Five books may seem like a lot for one unit, but I guarantee that they are very quick reads and the pacing is good in them– especially if students are assigned to read on their for homework.

Quantitative Measures: For the quantitative measures, I used StoryToolz. Because it’s a graphic novel, I had to type the text in manually. I’m not sure if this is why my results ended up being the way they are, or if it’s simply due to the nature of the writing. The writing isn’t complex by any means, but because it’s a graphic novel, it also (pretty much) solely uses dialogue. While I don’t agree with the quantitative measures given here. I don’t think the reading level is very difficult, I don’t think that this series would be appropriate or understood if read by first or second-graders.

Qualitative Measures: In this assessment (and the rest of them for this project) I used the Qualitative Measurement Rubric to decide the qualitative measures of the Scott Pilgrim series. In terms of organization, I decided that this series is moderately complex; there are a few time jumps and it is definitely difficult to predict. The use of graphics are exceedingly complex, only because the series would not work without them. The graphics themselves are not necessarily “complex” by themselves. As for language features, I’d say the conventionality is moderately complex because there are quite a few instances of dialogue between characters that require some deeper thinking to get the punchline/meaning of what was actually said. The vocabulary and sentence structure are both slightly complex. I would assert that the meaning of this text could arguably have multiple levels to it depending on the perspective you read it from, so for that reason, I would say it is very complex. As for life experiences, I think that this category would also be very complex because younger readers might not understand some of the issues brought forward in this series without guidance. There are also quite a few references to cultural elements in this series, so I would say that the intertextuality and cultural knowledge is also very complex.

Vocabulary:

1. Manic-pixie dream girl: a type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist.

2. Baggage: past experiences or long-held ideas regarded as burdens and impediments.

3. Grooming: when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

4. Ulterior Motive:  a hidden agenda, a secret reason that someone does or says something.

5. Panel: A single frame or box that generally contains one sequence or segment of action. Pages may consist of a single panel or may contain several panels (a row of panels is called a tier, a full page illustration is known as a splash, and a spread is an image that spans two or more pages) of uniform or varied sizes. The varied sizes generally help to create pacing. 

6. Background: The backdrop of an image where illustrators will tend to place objects that help create backstory, subtext, or other additional information

7. Foreground: The panel or part of a panel that is closest to the viewer

8. Chiaroscuro: the contrast of light and dark in a work of art.

9. Captions: information bubbles or boxes that are generally separate from the rest of the panel or page. Often, captions are used to create a voice-over technique to the action in front of us. They are also spaces for soliloquies, personal thoughts, and, occasionally, dialogue.

10. Speech Balloon: indicate dialogue in a text (although they may serve as thought balloons/bubbles). Pay attention to the shapes of the balloon as they can serve, in a way, as form of punctuation or statement of emotion. They are part of the illustration, not merely the words. Treat their shapes and lettering as such.

Reader & Task: The purpose of this text is to introduce students to some difficult topics, but it also would serve as an introduction to the film version that the students would be watching/analyzing later. I don’t think that this series would be using many students’ cultural aspects, but the characters are universally relatable and the series teaches important lessons. I think that the complexity of analyzing some of these topics paired with the accessibility of the text will make this a unit that students could easily accomplish if they put the work in. Students don’t need much prior knowledge to understand this text, but their motivation to show up and listen/put the work in will play a key role in their success of getting something out of this unit.

OTHER PRINT:

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Simon & Schuster, 1999. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Purchase Link

 

MULTIMEDIA

Peele, Jordan, director. Get Out. Universal Pictures, 2017.

Get Out-Purchase Link 

Summary: Get Out is a story about a man named Chris who goes with his girlfriend, Rose, to her parents’ house for a weekend. While everything seems fine at first, Chris starts to notice weird things happening that make him feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

Quantitative Measures: For this measurement, I used StoryToolz again. Similar to my issue with the Scott Pilgrim series, I think that because this is mostly dialogue, it comes up as such a low score. I also had to cut down the script a lot to fit it in the limited character count that you get through the website. I tried to leave in the parts that had the most complex dialogue, but it still came out much lower than I was anticipating. I definitely don’t agree with the scoring for this because there are a lot of complex words and ideas that a third-grader would not be able to understand.

Qualitative Measures: I would say that the organization of this film is very complex. There are a few subplots going on, and the characters are extremely complex. The use of graphics would be exceedingly complex; I say this because it’s a movie and without them you wouldn’t really have the whole story. I’m using “graphics” loosely, the entire visual aspect of the film is what I am considering here. I think that the conventionality is right between very and exceedingly complex, but I would say it leans a little more towards very complex. It doesn’t contain a ton of figurative language, but the idea of the film as a whole is pretty abstract. It’s also pretty dense, but I would still say it is very complex. In terms of vocabulary, I think it is moderately complex. It’s mostly conventional language until the end where there is some scientific language involved. The sentence structure is also moderately complex. I think that the meaning is moderately complex. The life experiences would be very complex, and the intertextuality and cultural knowledge is very complex as well.

Vocabulary: 

1. Microaggression: the everyday, subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups.

2. Objectification: the action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object.

3. Stereotype: a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

4. Cultural Appropriation: the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.

5. Frame: single image on film (24 or 30 frames per second is standard).

6. High Angle (camera): takes away power of subject, makes it insignificant.

7. Low Angle (camera): Increases height and/or power of subject.

8. Close-up shot: A shot of a small object or face that fills the screen; adds importance to the object photographed.

Reader & Task: The purpose of this text is to activate students’ background knowledge of racism and microaggressions and build upon it. I think that this text builds on students’ cultural assets because many of them might have experienced racism or microaggressions at some point, and this film could be an outlet for them to discuss those issues. I think that this film would be a bit more complex than the Scott Pilgrim series/movie, but I think that the students’ interest in the subject would drive them to do the work.

OTHER MULTIMEDIA:

Wright, Edgar, director. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Universal Pictures, 2010.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World-Purchase Link

CULTURALLY RELEVANT

Glover, Donald. “This is America.” YouTube, directed by Hiro Murai, Liberation Records, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

Summary: In the music video “This is America,” Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) takes a satirical approach in addressing the issues that America deals with every day.

Quantitative Measures: 

Once again, the quantitative measures are not accurate because this is a song. There aren’t really any full sentences, let alone complex sentences. I disagree with this score because I think that the subject matter in this song is something that students in high school might start thinking about; this would not be an appropriate text for second graders, nor would they understand it at all.

Qualitative Measures: In terms of organization, I would say this text is moderately complex. I had a hard time scoring that because it’s not really organized how many other varieties of texts are organized, but I think that it’s difficult to predict. The use of graphics, like the other two, is exceedingly complex. You could understand the idea of the song without the video, but the video shows the meaning much more clearly. For conventionality, I would say this text is very complex. There is a good amount of irony throughout the video, as it is satirical. The vocabulary and sentence structure are both slightly complex. I think the meaning is moderately complex, it’s not too difficult to understand but some students may need more help than others. I think the life experiences are moderately complex; these issues are something that pretty much everyone in America deals with/sees often. The intertextuality and cultural demands are exceedingly complex. There are many details in the video that make this song even more powerful. Here’s a link to those if you’re interested in reading about them!

Hidden Messages in "This is America" by Childish Gambino

Vocabulary: 

1. Apartheid: a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.

2. Minstrel show: also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent.

3. Police brutality: the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group.

4. Consumerism: the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods.

5. Juxtaposition: the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

6. Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Reader & Task: The purpose of this text is to further develop students’ sense of the political climate of America. This text builds on students’ cultural assets because Childish Gambino is a prominent musician in the industry. Having someone that many students will know and might even listen to outside of class will engage them in these topics more. I think that this text is pretty complex, but since the students will (hopefully) be more engaged due to the fact that Childish Gambino is involved, the students will be motivated in this unit.

OTHER CULTURALLY RELEVANT TEXTS:

Eilish, Billie. “Male Fantasy.” YouTube, directed by Billie Eilish, Interscope Records, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_BhUxx-cwk&t=208s